Principles of Simple Church

Dear Nicolay,

Greetings, dear brother!  Here is the first practical idea for you to consider.  Hang on because it will seem radical to you.  I begin with I Cor. 14:26 where Paul encourages everyone to participate.  Compare that to your services where only a few participate.  Nicolay, allow me to suggest one way for you to encourage participation of all of your people is to change the way in which you handle God’s Word – to go to participatory learning and participatory teaching of God’s Word.
In all honesty, monologue preaching is less than effective in making disciples or transforming lives.  Evaluate this for yourself.

So here we go again...

Can a Christian eat pork ribs or a ham sandwich? Not many of us who confess faith in Christ would have too hard a time answering that question. Yet, for first-century believers this was one of those "tough issues" that had to be worked through. Just ask Peter. In Acts 10 Peter tells the voice from heaven, By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean. Yet he is corrected, What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.

Can a Christian drink wine? Believers in Argentina would think, what a silly question! Of course you can. Jesus did. There is even a miracle in the Bible about Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding feast.

Dear Nicolay,

Before I get to the practical ideas that you asked for – let me first talk about the nature of change.

The decision about change often centers on not the need for change, but the rate or speed of change.  There are those who favor gradual, systematic change and there are those, like myself, who propose significant, radical change.

When we speak of the Reformation we all think of Martin Luther, of justification by faith and
of the beginning of the Protestant Church.  What do we mean by “The Second Reformation”?  Luther
began a reformation of belief but not necessarily of structure, ie, of how we do church once we believe.
How we express church ultimately shows what we really believe!

• Special people, at a special time, in a special place doing special things for me while I watch.

Editors Note:

The simple (or organic) church movement is made of all kinds of people from all kinds of denominations and backgrounds. We have tried to primarily present articles that are written from a positive viewpoint. Some writers(and also bloggers, and other participants of our site), however, present their ideas in a strong contrast to more traditional views of church. We do not want to offend our readers. It would, however, not be appropriate for us to edit these articles, so instead we present them in their entirety so that each reader can get a full understanding of what different people are saying and decide for himself how these principles and thoughts apply to their own situation.

We don’t expect you to agree with every word you read here, and neither do we. However, it is important that we join this global dialogue that is occurring, so that we can discern what God is speaking to us both as individuals and as churches. Read, pray, dialogue, and may God speak to us all about how we can be the disciples and bride He has called us to be

How did the early church teach their children? Did it involve Sunday school, children's church, or nurseries?

Dear Nickolai,

Throughout my time as a missionary, I have often been asked, “How is it working? What are the results?” Also, I have highlighted results to show others that we were doing good stuff whether it be church planting, training, Next Generation, Simple Churches, or Drug Rehab Homes. In truth, I have been one who focuses on pragmatism and methodology. When there were results, the world was right side up. When there were disappointments with progress, there was most often a change in methods or a sense of discouragement, sometimes to the point of doubting Christ’s promises to complete His mission.

In the previous posts in this series, I suggested that it is dangerous to the spiritual maturity of believers to place an extraordinary emphasis on Sunday as “The Day” or a specific location as “The Place” for Christians to meet together as the church.

Besides teaching people that they are only the church on a particular day and at a particular place, the practices of modern, traditional churches also dangerously teach people that the church is only meeting when they follow a particular program. Sometimes this is called liturgy. Sometimes it’s a specific set of activities or events that must happen.

Can you imagine what would happen on Sundays among most churches if there were no songs? What if no one preached a sermon or delivered a homily? What if certain creeds or prayers were not recited in unison?

And, yet, none of these things are necessary for the church to meet. However, because most churches practice these things “religiously,” people are taught that they are necessary and if they don’t happen (sometimes in a certain order) then it is not church.

In this case, it is not the day or the place that is defining the church, but a certain set of activities. Interestingly, these activities typically have little to do with the people involved. Anyone could sing the songs or recite the creeds/prayers, and it would still be considered church. The people themselves are replaceable. The people no longer define the church; certain activities – the program – defines the church.

As my mind surveys the stories found in the Bible, I can not help but see that our God is a God who leads us to places requiring significant change and the associated risk.  Abraham, leaving his country; Noah, building the ark; Moses, reluctantly accepting the call; Caleb and Joshua, saying we can not but God can; Esther, risking her life and luxury; Jonathan, standing with David against his father and King; Jesus, the ultimate revolutionary; and Paul, into the desert.  Our God is a revolutionary and He calls us to join Him as revolutionaries who are willing to seek significant change. 

Authentic restoration of the church(es) from their current plight in both America and the Slavic nations will require significant change.  No tweaking of existing systems will be sufficient.  Our current systems are perfect for the results we are getting: DECLINE.

The changes that I am referring to are not new changes, but a return to the apostolic patterns found in the New Testament and a return to follow the life and words of the Head of the Church – Jesus Christ.  There are principles and concepts from the early church, which should lead us into the future.  These concepts and principles are the same for all who wish for and work for restoration.  They are cross-cultural and apply to both America and Ukraine.  They are also counter Christendom.  We will not be able to maintain the hallmarks of Christendom.  There will need to be some deconstruction to take place before we can see restoration.  We need to break our dependence on buildings and professional leadership.  We will need to release baptism and the Lord’s Supper to God’s people.  We will need to seek release from the institutionalism of the church. 

Do you want to be a more passionate disciple of Jesus Christ? Do you desire to multiply your life and make disciples more effectively? Do you long to see churches started that are centered on Jesus Christ, that experience deep loving relationships, and that are able to reach the lost and multiply? If this describes your heart and if you are active in a simple church, then this conference is designed for you.

Special Guest: Ed Waken from Phoenix, Arizona
Ed is a disciplemaker and church planter who has trained and coached leaders in cities around the world. He is a close personal friend and co-laborer of Neil Cole(author of Organic Church). Ed and Neil regularly conduct training times together. You will discover that Ed is passionate about knowing Christ and about building His kingdom. Ed has done a training time in Kiev in the past, and he is greatly respected and appreciated by all those who have learned from him.

Participants: Teams of people who are involved in multiplying disciples and simple churches

Cost for Food and Lodging: $60. There are limited amount of scholarships for those with financial needs.

For more information or to register for the conference, please write Dima Sezlonov at simplechurch.books@gmail.com

Space is limited, so if you are interested contact us soon.

Church according to Miriam-Webster's online dictionary:

1: a building for public and especially Christian worship

2: the clergy or officialdom of a religious body

3: a body or organization of religious believers: as a: the whole body of Christians b: denomination <the Presbyterian church> c: congregation

4: a public divine worship <goes to church every Sunday>

Webster defines church according to the way this word is used today. I was taught this same definition as a little boy when I would put my hands together and recite the rhyme: "Here is the church, and here is the steeple; open the door and here are all the people."

Jesus, however, introduced the term "church" with a very different meaning in mind. He used a word "ekklesia" that simply described a group or assembly of people. This is the original definition of the word. He described "church" as those people who were following Him-people walking in allegiance to him. People. His followers. Nothing more than that.